Yowza, that's gross.

Holy Cats! Lil' just set the record for the longest held bite of omelette and milk in the history of such records set! I swear, and I'm not exaggerating, I gave her the one last bite over 15 minutes ago. She said, like she always does, that it was "toooooooo muccccch" so I did like always do, and made her take a sip of milk. I took her plate, cleaned up the breakfast dishes, started the dishwasher and cracked my morning Diet Coke.

She left the table, went and played her piano, put all 3 of her baby dolls upstairs in her bed, got some paper towels, pretended to wipe the windows down and then went back to the table where I looked over and she had her cheeks all puffed out. I said, "Lil', do you still have that bite in your mouth?" She spit it all out right back on the table and said, "Not any - mo."

Yowza, that's gross.

Happy Wife = Happy Life

Listen up kids cause this is important. Always remember -

HAPPY WIFE = HAPPY LIFE

Minutes From the 1st Cousin Meeting

President: Big
Vice President: Lil'
Secretary: Miss E.

It was all agreed that Big will be the leader of the pack. However Lil' and Miss E. will have full reign over the playhouse and all of its contents at Nettie's. Big will reside as driver and director of the Uncle Willy.

All 3 cousins will share custody and ownership of Yancey and will share him accordingly. As for Nettie and Papa, they will also be split down the middle but Miss E. will take over the nightly bed visits until she is ready to go into her own room. At that time, Lil' and Big will rotate making sure that Miss E. gets her equal time with them made up during the daylight hours.

The meeting was brief. It was successful and it was oh so sweet.

That night, I was showing Papa some pictures from Big and Lil's meeting with Miss E. Big was looking at them with us and he leaned over and said to me, "Mama, I almost cried when I held her." I said, "Why Big?" He said, "Cause she's so tiny and sweet." With that Mama here burst into tears herself. The prayers that night went like this...

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Angels watch me through the night
and wake me in the morning light.

God bless Mommy, Daddy, Big and Lil'
and thank you Dear Lord for sending us Baby E.

These were the minutes from the 1st cousin meeting.

And Its All For The Better

She finally came to us last night. A beautiful baby girl with black curly hair. She is peaceful. She is sweet. She is just plain lovely. She weighs 7 pounds 11 ounces and she is 19 3/4 inches long. The new Mama was amazing. She pushed her out into the world in no time flat. Her name is Eden Gray. Another great name idea from Mama here. The Gray part anyway.











My brother's life changed yesterday. And its all for the better.

Bye, Bye Baby Hair

Lil's got some hair. We've never cut it. Until yesterday. Don't worry, don't worry. It was only a trim. She still looks like she belongs in an 80's hair band. Before we cut it, I had to get a picture though. Here's her last bath before her first haircut. Bye, bye baby hair.

I'll Keep Ya'll Posted

So teaching Big to swim was a breeze. Nettie did it when I was on a trip to Japan. I left, the kid was in swimmies, I came back, he was jumping off the side looking like a shorty Michael Phelps. No big deal. He was 2 1/2.

Lil' has been a different story. She is more like Greg Louganis probably was on his first dive after the skull ringer he took. She's petrified and she hates it. We just finished a week of swimming lessons in Chapin. She has never been more upset with me in her entire life. She screamed the entire time. That was unfortunate because it only made for a bigger mouth full of water when I said "3!" and pushed her back to Ms. Missy.

Other than the lessons we had the best time living it up in the country for a week. 2 of my besties and their kids came along. And 2 of my other ones already live there. I'm pretty sure everybody had fun, even if the Mama's had to have a slight buzz in their head that wasn't a result of the heat if you know what I'm saying.

Here's Lil' using cooking as therapy...


Here's Big and his new girlfriend having a "dive-off"...


Here are the kids on the back of Papa's Uncle Willy...

As for the swimming lessons, I did see some small success at the end of the week when Lil' could find the wall and pull herself up when we did mock "fall-in" drills. But for now she remains seriously mad which is again unfortunate because I'm not sure she is aware of how stuborn ole' Mama is. That child will swim if it's the last thing that happens this summer. I'll keep ya'll posted.

Having Him All to Yourself

More often than not, a girl is gonna try and find a man to marry who reminds her of her father. Our fathers are the first ones we fall in love with. The first ones we get dressed up for. The first ones we try to impress.

Lil' has it real bad for Daddy. She adores him. She loves to show him her dresses and her hair. She loves to cuddle with him and share her blankie. She follows him around from the time he walks in the door to the time he puts her in the bed. She's constantly dragging him around the house by his pointy finger and if he takes her somewhere without Big, she's in heaven.



My Dad was my first love too. I did anything I could to get his attention when I was little. I duck hunted, dove hunted and went everywhere I could with him. I learned to pee off of boats in the middle of winter during duck season and I always knew to wear a hat to cover my blonde hair in September during dove season (that way doves wouldn't think I was a fire ant hill). We did other things besides hunt but the times I loved the most, just like Lil', were the times I had him all to myself.

It Tastes Pretty Good Too

It's no secret that Mama loves a stiff drink. I've been having an affair for years with a gentleman named Jack and I love him and cannot fathom the thought of turning my back on him. He's gentle and loving and I'm not leaving him. Daddy is ok with this because it makes me just a wee bit nicer.

However.

There is another. An older man that is wise with grey hair and a chiseled chin. He comes swooping in usually late at night and he's always different. Sometimes peach or cherry. Sometimes just plain ole' plain ole'. He's the bad boy your Mama tells you to stay away from. A criminal. A gangster. But you just can't. You go back for more. How can something that feels so right be so wrong? You are my Moonshine lover.

Please read the article from Garden and Gun when you have the time. It is a wonderful read on what Moonshine means to the Southerner. It is born and bred into us to love moonshine. Just as we are to love biscuits and gravy, we must also love the corn whiskey.

"It goes by countless names, but no matter what you call it, moonshine is experiencing a golden age—and it tastes pretty good too."

Where It Is

It lies in the wisp of ocean foam
as it blows off and hits you in the shin.
In the sweet and sour hint of a baby's breath.
And in the trees bending and swaying in the wind.

It lies in your plants coming back in the spring.
In the coldest beer in the cooler.
It lies in waiting for an old friend to visit.
And in casting a lure.

It lies in reaching the parking lot at Disney World.
It's in the net when its heavy after you throw it.
It happens when the dog lays on your feet.
And when you hear, "I'm proud of you" and you know it.

It lies in seeing your kids hug.
It comes when your meal is the best one ordered.
It lies in hearing they are finally pregnant.
It comes when you pick the perfect color.

It lies in an old river bed.
It lives on a feathered wing.
It goes up a rocky summit.
And then down through all things.

That's where it is.

A Demon

In speaking with my very wise and selfless cousin tonight, it was brought to my attention that one of my cousins recently got married. You can imagine my surprise in hearing that I would have known if only I would join the online networking/spying/big-brother watching site called Facebook. "Whatever," is what I say to that.

It is my theory that Facebook has compromised something for all of us in this world. It has turned meaningful conversation into a casual blip. It has re-kindled old love affairs that have wrecked new families. It has been a key to unlocking forgotten secrets that were never meant to be told. My family is very, very close. We always have been. This Facebook man is coming between us.

He is the fly in my soup. He is the piece of hair in the wet paint. He is the broken crayon. He is the power going out during the season finale of Lost. He is a scratch on your favorite cd.

I will beat you Facebook man. You will not win. I will not join you. I will flee and run. I will however, keep spying on you to watch over all the others who have joined you in an effort to make sure they are all safe. You are a demon Facebook man. A demon.

That Girl's Got It Goin On

As a virgin in the blogging world, I am constantly amazed at all the people out there with sites of their own. There are blogs on religion, family, love, divorce, addiction, horticulture and then my favorite, food. I've recently started following this girl who is incredible because not only is she from L.A., but she cooks like she's from deep Georgia. None of it is good for you but good lord it tastes good. Check her out if you have the time cause that girl's got it goin on.

Old Rucci

Rat catcher
Lizard lover
Head rubber
Sink stopper
Faucet drinker
Street duster
Mama follower
Dog tamer
Bird monster
Kid befriender
Plant squisher
Hair dropper
Ring biter
All-time great lay-arounder

Sweet old rucci.

Rucci Family Summer Checklist

Here's our checklist for the summer:

- A solid case of poison ivy (STILL WAITING ON)

- 1 or 2 tick bites but if you get over 113 you'll have new record cause that's what Big got last year (STILL WAITING ON)

- A whole bunch of chigger bites (CHECK)

- A wasp sting (CHECK)

- Crack your head open at midnight on a Saturday and make your parents who have been a little overserved make a decision about whether or not to take you in to the emergency room to get stitches. (CHECK)

We didn't take him for fear of waiting behind multiple people with gunshot wounds and the like but we did seal it up with some butterfly bandages. Now he has 3 scars on his face and a new nerf gun blaster that holds 20 bullets because we feel sorry for him.



That's the Rucci Family summer checklist.